It has been a very interesting Week 1 around college football -- don't even get me started on the Western Michigan-Michigan ending from Saturday, because I won't be getting over that before 2028, at least -- and it concludes with the ACC tonight. No. 19 SMU visits unranked Florida State and hugely embattled coach Mike Norvell. It's a 7:30 ET kick on ESPN.
Via DraftKings betting splits, the Mustangs are -3 are taking about 75% of handle and tickets, while Over 53.5 is taking even bigger leans on both. I'm not sure I agree with those leans when looking at the weather in Tallahassee: Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Winds light and variable.
It's supposed to rain some in the afternoon, as well, so field conditions might be an issue. Bet on college football at DraftKings, where new users get $200 when they spend $5+: You can try college football betting on the best sports betting apps, and you need to check out the SportsLine Projection Model for picks on games from both the simulations and our experts. We have a strong play here for those who want to get into parlay betting for SMU vs.
DrafKings price: +102 (subject to change) Pick your sportsbook/site, but Norvell is the clear betting favorite to be the first power conference head coach fired this season, and he should be. Norvell appeared to have FSU headed back to national powerhouse status in 2023. But when star quarterback Jordan Travis broke his leg in that year's ACC Championship Game win over Louisville -- and the Noles were left out of the College Football Playoff despite being unbeaten -- well, it has all gone completely downhill since.
Including an embarrassing 63-3 loss to Georgia in that season's Orange Bowl, the Seminoles are 8-18 overall in their past 26 games, with just three ACC victories. FSU isn't like an Ohio State or Texas just swimming in money in the athletic department. In fact, it's quite the opposite.
Long story short, Norvell likely would have been fired after last season if not for a monstrous buyout that would have cost the school about $72 million to fire him and his staff. The good news is that Florida State won its 2026 opener, though it didn't look that great in doing so. The Seminoles took a 34-17 home win over New Mexico State in Week 0, not coming close to covering the 31.5-point number.
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